The real reason why global climate targets are doomed to fail has barely been touched on. The wealthiest 1% account for 15% of the world’s emissions–more than twice the emissions generated by people in the bottom 50%. When it comes to conserving energy and lowering carbon footprints, focusing on the UHNWIs will provide the most bang for the buck. The rallying cry around global climate initiatives grew increasingly boisterous leading up to COP26 this year. The media posited what bold, new goals would be set. Others questioned the likelihood that those claims would be fulfilled. But the real reason why global climate targets–including those set at COP26–are doomed to fail has barely been touched on: cognitive dissonance and superconsumers–and it’s why the oil and gas industry can likely rest easy. In oversimplified non-psychiatry-speak terms, cognitive dissonance is when we feel some angst over the disconnect between how we wish […]